More Than Meets The Eye
by Nelalila
Summary: Have you ever wanted to find out more about all those characters we either love or love to hate? This fanfiction is going to focus on Harry's friends, companions and enemies; we learn about their thoughts and experiences with The Boy Who Lived and are able to relive the series all over again, only from a different point of view this time. (canon)
1. Albus D - The Boy Who Lived

_**DISCLAMER**_

 _I am sadly not J.K. Rowling and therefore I don't own the Harry Potter Universe or its characters, however, I will borrow them for this story. I solemnly swear that I don't mean any harm with this and that I don't make any profit with this fanfiction._

 _ **Author's note:**_

 _I already know that some don't like the idea of stories like this, probably due to the "lack of creativity and originality" but I am just really interested in reading/writing canon re-telling fanfics about the main story and trust me, they are still hard work._

 _I do know a few "re-telling from another POV" fanfict and I even read two amazing ones (one about Albus and one about Snape) but most of those stories either focus on one year only or on one single character. I have never seen a fanfic with a different character for each chapter, which is what I will do. Mostly it will chose a person who plays an important part in the particular chapter but sometimes it might also just be a side character. I will also use characters more than once, considering there are many chapters which include almost nobody else apart from Harry, Ron and Hermione, but I will try to keep it limited._

 _I am aware that a retelling of the original story and using direct quotes can lead to problems with copyright infringement but other fanfics who re-tell parts of the story don't get deleted or something and I will try to change as much as possible without hurting the integrity of Rowlings amazing work._

 _I also apologize for grammar and spelling mistakes or easy language beforehand; I am not from an English speaking country but I'm trying my best to write proper English and learn better vocabulary ;)_

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 **Chapter 1: The Boy Who Lived (Albus Dumbledore)**

Albus Percival Brian Wulfric Dumbledore, headmaster at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, was proud to say that he was one of the most extraordinary wizards of all time, thank you very much. He was in fact not only a wizard but probably the wisest, strangest and most powerful wizard of the 20th century. Not everyone might agree with his - some call it 'unusual' – laws, rules and guidelines he had helped to shape for the wizard community or created for his school but he was overall well respected for his greatest achievements. For instance, his discovery of the twelve uses of dragon blood or his defeat of the infamous Dark Wizard Grindelwald in 1945 made him well-known all over and even outside of Europe and had even earned him his very own chocolate frog card (which, if you asked Dumbledore himself, was in fact his biggest accomplishment in life). There were even rumors that Dumbledore was the only one You-Know-Who was actually afraid of and therefore it was the old headmaster whom most people put all their hopes in; they were convinced that if there was anyone who could defeat the Dark Lord once and for all and put his now eleven year long terrible reign of horror to an end, it would be Albus Dumbledore.

Little did they know how wrong they were.

The day our story begins was a cold and cloudy early November morning. It was the day after Halloween and still dark outside, therefore most students and teachers were still fast asleep. They were not yet aware of what had happened just a few hours earlier and for them, the world has not yet turned upside down. Albus Dumbledore however, who was already wide awake and sitting at the desk in his office, was not so fortunate; he had been awakened shortly after midnight by the Minister for Magic himself, who had turned up in his fireplace unexpectedly and without prior announcement of her arrival.

Dumbledore immediately knew that Millicent Bagnold had to have a very good reason to turn up in the middle of the night without warning and especially without an appointment so he didn't even make an attempt to scold her about the rude invasion of his privacy.

"Merlin's beard Millicent, what happened?"  
"Dumbledore", panted the minister, "he's gone, defeated... You-Know-Who is dead."  
For the first time in many many years it took Dumbledore a few moments to understand what he had just heard.  
"Excuse me?"

He could almost feel his brain activating, hundreds of thoughts rushing through its cells mercilessly, giving him a headache almost immediately. Voldemort? Dead? But this wasn't possible, he knew for certain that Riddle couldn't 'die' for he had long ago made sure that he could not be killed off easily. And why would he be gone anyway, what would have stopped him? Did the order or, for Merlin's sake, the ministry find him and forced him out of his body? If it was that easy, why didn't they, why didn't he, manage to do this earlier during the past eleven years? There would have been no need for him to put all his hopes into a prophecy and … the prophecy … Harry … the Potters! He had made sure himself that they would be safe, there was no way that Voldemort could have found them...

"How...?", asked Dumbledore, keeping his voice calm and steady.  
"We don't really know, it seems that he went to Godric's Hollow and..."  
The minister suddenly stopped in mid sentence, feeling the heat radiating from the older wizard and didn't dare to speak any further.

It was not possible … Dumbledore knew that Sirius Black had been chosen to be the Potter's Secret Keeper, which means that he also had to have been the one to betray them to the Dark Lord. It was a painful and sheer unbelievable idea but the Fidelius Charm would protect them for as long as the Secret Keeper would not give out the location … Dumbledore himself had cast the spell and there was no way that he had made a mistake. Albus decided to keep the information about Sirius to himself, at least for the moment, until he was sure that it was really him who had been chosen as Secret Keeper in the end. If only James and Lily had accepted his offer to become their Secret Keeper himself …

"They are all dead, aren't they?", asked the old wizard and his worst fears were confirmed when he saw the look on Millicent's face. He didn't even need to look into her mind.  
"Mr. and Mrs. Potter are dead but their boy survived, apparently You-Know-Who tried to kill him but he wasn't able to do it… ehm … I don't know how this is possible to be honest but we already have reports of … well … Death Eaters who had been under the Imperius Curse, they turned normal again and … we found You-Know-Who's cloak and his wand and half the house is blown apart so it seems he is actually gone and … that a young child managed to defeat him with barely no injuries except from a cut on the forehead."

For a second time this night Dumbledore wasn't sure if he had understood correctly; obviously he had been wrong again. Harry was alive, left unharmed with the exception of a small cut, undoubtedly the result of a curse... Had the prophecy came true after all? The words were ringing in his ears. ' _And the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not'_. There was still no doubt for him that Riddle hadn't actually died and that the danger wasn't over, especially not for little Harry Potter. He had to be protected.

"Millicent, where is Harry now? He is in great danger, Voldemort isn't dead and even if he really is gone he will be back some day."  
The minister flinched when she heard Voldemort's name and a tormented expression crossed her face.  
"Dumbledore … forgive me but I don't think he will be back, he is … gone…"  
"There is no time to discuss this right now, minister, please tell me, where is Harry?"

"He is still in Godric's Hollow with some Aurors… they are securing the house as well as possible and I had also ordered some wizards from the Muggle-Worthy Excuse Committee to help with the Muggle authorities… it was apparently Muggle neighbors who heard an explosion from the Potter house and well… you know how it is, there are still quite a few wizard families up there and— "  
"The boy, we need to get him out of there, to a place where he is safe", Dumbledore interrupted, "If you allow me I will take care of it myself."  
"But… Dumbledore, I need you at the ministry, there are things we need to discuss and-"  
"Harry is more important now, Death Eaters will find out what had happened soon enough and then they will go after him!"  
"… Oh… ehm, okay, if you think so but … in case you are right who would be willing to take care of him? I need to look over the files at the ministry… Does he still have his grandparents?"

Dumbledore needed to know what happened at Godric's Hollow in detail. This would be crucial information regarding the protection charms. He needed to think everything through in silence and then take a look at the house itself. If Riddle used the Killing Curse, why didn't it kill Harry? There was no doubt that Voldemort wanted to hunt down and kill the boy, they had known that for a while now thanks to … Snape, who he had hired as a teacher so he could work as a double agent. Didn't the young man tell him that he had asked Voldemort to spare Lily Potter in case he found her? Was it possible that the Dark Lord wanted to meet his servant's daring wish and spare her life? Albus couldn't imagine that Lily would not fight and defend her son even if Voldemort would indeed spare her, he had known her for a long time and he knew that Harry meant everything to her. A sacrifice like this could have severe consequences … it was old and little-known magic but it was a possibility.

"Please give me a few hours to think this through but I think that Harry would be safest if he stayed with Petunia Evans, Lily Potter's sister. As soon as I have come to a conclusion about what had happened I will meet you in the ministry to discuss further matters. For now I will send one of my most trustworthy employers down to Godric's Hollow to get the boy out safely and after we have decided upon his new home I will make sure to get him there and explain everything to his new guardians."

After many sleepless hours in his office Albus did indeed apparate to London but before he had made sure that Hagrid would be on his way to Godric's Hollow. He wanted to get Harry out of there before news about the incident leaked to the public, especially the Potters good friends in the order. At the ministry, Dumbledore and Millicent Bagnold discussed his theories and decided, that Harry would indeed be given to his aunt Petunia, her husband and son. It was still early morning when he sent an owl to Hagrid and told him to meet him at 10pm at Privet Drive Number 4 in Little Whinging, Surrey where they would put Harry into the care of his relatives. After that he helped the minister with the press and tried to explain to her once again that Voldemort would be back some day.

He could have chosen to talk to a wall instead. It was obvious that the minister wanted to join the celebrations which were undoubtedly occupying every single wizard all over Britain right now, not caring about a dozen 'what-ifs' that would probably not be happening anytime soon anyway.

In the evening Dumbledore disapparated to Privet Drive, a fastidious Muggle neighborhood with endless houses, gardens and driveways that all looked the same. He couldn't help but smirk; he was aware that he had just arrived in a street where everything from his name to his boots was unwelcome. There couldn't have been a bigger difference to Godric's Hollow, where he had spent the last two hours, examining the Potter's house in secret to find out more about the horrible event that took place yesterday night.

While looking for his Deluminator he realized that he was being watched. He looked up and saw a cat sitting at the other end of the street, its eyes staring him down. "I should have known", he muttered and smiled. How did she know he would be here? It could in fact only be Hagrid, who probably hadn't been able to withstand her infamous piercing glare and told her where they planned to meet him in the evening. Albus had finally found the Deluminator and made sure to put out all the streets lights before walking over to number four, where he sat down on a wall, right next to the cat.

"Fancy seeing you here, Professor McGonagall."  
The cat transformed into his black-haired transfiguration teacher and he barely managed to suppress a giggle when he saw that he looked distinctly ruffled.  
"How did you know it was me?"  
"My dear Professor, I've never seen a cat sit so stiffly.", Dumbledore answered with a wink, once again fighting hard to stay sincere.  
"You'd be stiff if you'd been sitting on a brick wall all day," said McGonagall defensively.  
"All day? When you could have been celebrating? I must have passed a dozen feasts and parties on my way here."

McGonagall snorted angrily and Dumbledore couldn't blame her when she told him that the celebrations had seemingly gone too far; even the Muggles had noticed that something was up. It was then that her real motives for sitting on a brick wall a whole day came to light.

"A fine thing it would be if, on the very day You-Know-Who seems to have disappeared at last, the Muggles found out about us all. I suppose he really has gone, Dumbledore?"  
He sighed. He didn't want to talk it all through again.  
"It certainly seems so. We have much to be thankful for. Would you care for a lemon drop?"  
"A what?" McGonagall looked at him irritated.  
"A lemon drop. They're a kind of Muggle sweet I'm rather fond of."  
"No, thank you," said McGonagall coldly, getting right back to the point. "As I say, even if You-Know-Who has gone —"  
"My dear Professor, surely a sensible person like yourself can call him by his name? All this 'You-Know-Who' nonsense — for eleven years I have been trying to persuade people to call him by his proper name: Voldemort."

The teacher flinched, but Dumbledore didn't care and concentrated on unwrapping two lemon drops. "It all gets so confusing if we keep saying 'You-Know-Who.' I have never seen any reason to be frightened of saying Voldemort's name."  
"I know you haven't," said McGonagall, sounding half exasperated, half admiring. "But you're different. Everyone knows you're the only one You-Know- oh, all right, Voldemort, was frightened of."  
"You flatter me," said Dumbledore calmly. "Voldemort had powers I will never have."  
"Only because you're too — well — noble to use them."

Dumbledore could feel the heat rising on his face. If she knew the truth about his dreams and actions when he had been younger, she wouldn't say something like this. He did not deserve this praise.  
"It's lucky its dark. I haven't blushed so much since Madam Pomfrey told me she liked my new earmuffs."

All his efforts to change topics had been to no avail though and McGonagall kept on pushing.  
"The owls are nothing next to the rumors that are flying around. You know what everyone's saying? About why he has disappeared? About what finally stopped him?"

She fixed Dumbledore with such a piercing stare that he felt like he had just been caught doing some serious mischief. However, instead of giving in he unwrapped another lemon drop. McGonagall however was not going to give up that easily.

"What they're saying," she pressed on, "is that last night Voldemort turned up in Godric's Hollow. He went to find the Potters. The rumor is that Lily and James Potter are ... are ... that they're... dead." There it was, the thing he did not want to talk about, especially not here with McGonagall. He knew that her former students had meant a lot to her.

Dumbledore slowly bowed his head. McGonagall gasped. "Lily and James . . . I can't believe it . . . I didn't want to believe it . . . Oh, Albus . . ." The headmaster didn't know how to comfort her so he just reached out and patted her on the shoulder. "I know . . . I know . . ." he said heavily.

McGonagall's voice trembled as she went on. "That's not all. They're saying he tried to kill the Potters' son, Harry. But ...he couldn't. He couldn't kill that little boy. No one knows why, or how, but they're saying that when he couldn't kill Harry Potter, Voldemort's power somehow broke — and that's why he's gone."

The Hogwarts teacher looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to tell her that the rumors weren't true… But Dumbledore only nodded glumly."It's ... it's true?" stuttered McGonagall. "After all he's done . . . all the people he's killed . . . he couldn't kill a little boy? It's just astounding . . . of all the things to stop him . . . but how in the name of heaven did Harry survive?"

Dumbledore sighed. He did not want to elaborate his theories about this ancient magic to her; the less people knew about Lily's sacrifice and the protection she lay upon her child, the better. "We can only guess. We may never know."

When McGonagall started dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief he looked away politely and instead focused on his watch. Hagrid was late. He asked his teacher if it was Hagrid who had told her that he would be meeting him here.

"Yes," McGonagall confirmed. "And I don't suppose you're going to tell me why you're here, of all places?"  
"I've come to bring Harry to his aunt and uncle. They're the only family he has left now."  
"You don't mean — you can't mean the people who live here?" McGonagall jumped to her feet and pointed at number four furiously. "Dumbledore … you can't. I've been watching them all day. You couldn't find two people who are less like us. And they've got this son … I saw him kicking his mother all the way up the street, screaming for sweets. Harry Potter come and live here!"

He could not help but feel a little ashamed for not checking on the family beforehand but there had been no time and it would not have mattered anyways. Petunia shared Lily's blood and therefore it's the only way he would be protected from Voldemort and his remaining Death Eaters who were still out there, striving for revenge. Dumbledore remembered that Petunia had written him a letter when she was a teenager, asking to be accepted at Hogwarts even though she had not one magical cell in her body. He knew that Lily had had problems with her sister ever since then, the older one clearly being jealous of her little sister. Hopefully this fact had not made her a bitter woman who would be jealous of her nephew once he would receive his Hogwarts letter and punish him for something he had been born with and couldn't change. The letter he had written for Petunia would explain everything to her and how important it was that she accepted him into her home but now that he had heard McGonagall negative remarks he wasn't sure anymore if it was actually enough.

"It's the best place for him," said Dumbledore firmly. "His aunt and uncle will be able to explain everything to him when he's older. I've written them a letter."  
"A letter?" repeated Professor McGonagall faintly, sitting back down on the wall. "Really, Dumbledore, you think you can explain all this in a letter? These people will never understand him! He'll be famous … a legend. I wouldn't be surprised if today was known as Harry Potter Day in the future ... there will be books written about Harry ... every child in our world will know his name!"

Famous for something he wouldn't even be able to remember, before he could even walk and talk… In fact, this was just another reason to keep him away from the wizard community for now and this is exactly what he tried to tell the black-haired woman next to him, who fortunately seemed to agree.

"Yes ... yes, you're right, of course. But how is the boy getting here, Dumbledore?" She eyed his cloak suspiciously as if there might be a possibility that he had hidden Harry underneath it.  
"Hagrid's bringing him."  
"You think it … wise … to trust Hagrid with something as important as this?" He could hear the disbelief in her voice.  
"I would trust Hagrid with my life," said Dumbledore firmly.  
"I'm not saying his heart isn't in the right place," she said grudgingly, "but you can't pretend he's not careless. He does tend to … what was that?"

They looked up the sky when a load rumbling sound broke the silence of the night and only a few moments later a huge motorcycle landed in front of them a few meters down the road. Dumbledore was relieved.

"Hagrid. At last. And where did you get that motorcycle?"  
"Borrowed it, Professor Dumbledore, sir," said Hagrid, climbing carefully off the motorcycle as he spoke. "Young Sirius Black lent it to me. I've got him, sir."

Dumbledore's heart skipped a beat when Hagrid mentioned Sirius name. "No problems, were there?", he asked worriedly.  
"No, sir — house was almost destroyed, but I got him out all right before the Muggles started swarmin' around. He fell asleep as we was flyin' over Bristol."

Hagrid bent down and showed them a small bundle of blankets. Inside there was Harry, a small baby, fast asleep. It was sheer mind-boggling that this little child was the reason the Dark Lord had vanished. But yet, on his forehead there was a slightly swollen scar, shaped like a lightning bolt. Dumbledore told them that this had to be where the curse had hit the young child.

When he took the baby from Hagrid it was obvious that the half-giant had grown attached to the boy. He wanted to tell him goodbye and bent down to give Harry a scratchy kiss; Hagrid then started crying loudly, sounding like a wounded dog.

"Shhh!" hissed Professor McGonagall, "you'll wake the Muggles!"  
"S-s-sorry," sobbed Hagrid, "But I c-c-can't stand it — Lily an' James dead — an' poor little Harry off ter live with Muggles —"  
"Yes, yes, it's all very sad, but get a grip on yourself, Hagrid, or we'll be found."

Dumbledore stepped over the brick wall and walked up to the front door. After laying Harry down on the doorstep carefully he pulled out his letter and tucked it inside the blankets. He went back to his two companions and for a while the three of them just stood there silently, lost in thoughts; McGonagall and Hagrid were crying. Only hesitantly Dumbledore turned his head away from little bundle.

"Well," said Dumbledore finally, "that's that. We've no business staying here. We may as well go and join the celebrations." In fact, he had to get back to Hogwarts.  
"Yeah," said Hagrid in a very muffled voice, "I'd best get this bike away. G'night, Professor McGonagall — Professor Dumbledore, sir."

It was the second time tonight that Dumbledore was reminded of Sirius Black, after all the owner of said bike and closed his eyes painfully… Now that James and Lily were dead, nobody apart from him and maybe one or two of their best friends knew that Sirius had been the Potter's Secret Keeper. He wondered where he was now, was he in hiding? Why did he give his bike to Hagrid, did he put a curse on it, hoping that Hagrid and little Harry would die in a horrible crash? If that was the case, did the curse fail? He had to admit that it didn't make a lot of sense. Maybe James did change his mind one last time and chose another Secret Keeper … He would deal about it tomorrow and try to find Sirius and speak with him but for now he really had to get back to Hogwarts and face, what he assumed, hundreds of letters from the ministry, the Daily Prophet and from wizards all over the world. If it was really Sirius who had betrayed the Potters he would not get away with it, he would make sure of it.

After Hagrid had left Dumbledore turned to his transfiguration teacher.

"I shall see you soon, I expect, Professor McGonagall," said Dumbledore and smiled at her weakly, knowing that she would need a few moments to herself now but that she'd be back at Hogwarts on time. There was no way she would let her students miss another transfiguration class.

Dumbledore turned and walked back down the street. On the corner he stopped and took out his Deluminator. After he had clicked it one time the street was once again ablaze with light, the small bundle laying on the step of number four just barely visible now. "Good luck, Harry," he murmured. He turned on his heel and disapparated, only to arrive at the Apparition Point in Hogsmeade only a few moments later. He walked up to the school in silence, lost in thoughts once again. Hopefully he had done the right thing, leaving young Harry at Privet Drive, but if there was one thing that could protect the boy it would be the blood of his mother.

Dumbledore eventually reached the gargoyle which guarded the entrance to his office. He was just about to mutter the password when a sudden movement right behind him caught his attention. He spun around and pulled his wand out, ready to conjure a stunning spell, but stopped in mid action when he realized that it was Severus Snape, who had stepped out of the shadows of a nearby column. The otherwise young man looked like he had lived a hundred years of misery since Dumbledore had last seen him at the Halloween feast yesterday.

"Professor Snape", Dumbledore looked at him grimly. Of course Snape had heard what happened too… he couldn't help but feel pity for the man who stood in front of him, shaking and evidently close to tears. If Severus had been sincere about Lily and his change of loyalties, it would show now.

"Can we … can we talk?", stuttered the young teacher, his voice merely a whisper. Dumbledore nodded and after telling the password to gargoyle he lead him up the stairs. Snape stumbled up behind him and as soon as they reached the inside of the office, the former Death Eater let himself fall into one of the chairs in front of Dumbledore's desk. He made a terrible sound, like a wounded animal. After a moment or two he raised his face and spoke with a shaking hoarse voice.

"I thought … you were going to … keep her … safe…"

Dumbledore sighed, feeling almost as miserable as Severus himself. "She and James put their faith in the wrong person. Rather like you, Severus. Weren't you hoping that Lord Voldemort would spare her?" Severus hissed and closed his eyes painfully, his breathing was shallow. "Her boy survives", Dumbledore said and eyed his former student carefully, waiting for a reaction.

Severus didn't reply but his head jerked slightly, as if trying to flick off an irksome fly. "Her son lives," Dumbledore repeated and made sure that Severus understood the significance of his words. "He has her eyes, precisely her eyes. You remember the shape and color of Lily Evans's eyes, I am sure?"

"DON'T!" bellowed Snape. "Gone…dead…"  
"Is this remorse, Severus?" If there was remorse in him then he could be saved, no matter what bad things he had done in the services of Voldemort.  
"I wish…I wish I were dead…"  
"And what use would that be to anyone?" said Dumbledore coldly. "If you loved Lily Evans, if you truly loved her, then your way forward is clear."

Snape seemed to peer through a haze of pain, and Dumbledore's words once again didn't seem to reach him instantly. "What … what do you mean?"  
"You know how and why she died. Make sure it was not in vain. Help me protect Lily's son."  
"He does not need protection. The Dark Lord has gone – "  
"The Dark Lord will return, and Harry Potter will be in terrible danger when he does." After all, there was no way that Voldemort would be gone forever and he was glad that at least Snape didn't question his opinion.

There was a long pause and slowly Snape regained control of himself, mastered his own breathing. At last he said in a now stronger voice, "Very well. Very well. But never … never tell, Dumbledore! This must be between us! Swear it! I cannot bear…especially Potter's son…I want your word!"

Dumbledore sighed and looked down into Snape's ferocious, anguished face. "My word, Severus, that I shall never reveal the best of you? If you insist…"  
"The best of me?", he spit out angrily, "I wished I didn't feel what I'm feeling right now! I wished I didn't care about her! It makes me weak, it makes me vulnerable, it makes me -"  
Dumbledore raised his right hand.  
"Stop, Severus. I know you are in a lot of pain right now but never forget that the ability to feel and what you are in fact feeling at this very moment, is what makes you human and it is not a weakness, it is a gift. Love is the most powerful force in the world and we should pity all those who are unable to experience what it feels like."

Snape snorted; it was obvious that he disagreed with his headmaster on everything he had just said. After a few minutes of silence the former Death Eater spoke again.  
"So... what do you want me to do?"

Dumbledore looked at him closely.

"I want you to stay here at Hogwarts at my service. I know that you initially only came here on Voldemort's orders and I let you teach in exchange for the inside information you could provide me as a double agent but it is important that you stay. I can try to keep you out of Azkaban but I neither own the Wizengamot nor the ministry … we need to prove that you had changed sides before Voldemort's downfall and if everything works out you still need a job anyway. If you stay here you can help me look after Harry when he comes to school in 10 years and when Voldemort comes back you might be able to work as a double agent once again..."

Snape sneered and looked everything but happy. However, after a long talk the headmaster managed to persuade his young teacher into staying and when he eventually went to sleep, Albus Dumbledore was convinced that he had done at least one thing right that day. He rolled over in his bed, not knowing that in only a few hours from now Sirius Black would be caught after killing twelve Muggles and Peter Pettigrew, who had confronted his former friend about betraying James and Lily Potter and not knowing that he had sentenced young Harry Potter, the boy who lived, to ten years of neglect and suffering.

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 _So... that was chapter 1. Writing this was a lot of work and therefore it would mean a lot to me if you could leave me a short review (critique about the language is also welcome!) or fav/follow if you like the story so far._


	2. Dudley D - The Vanishing Glass

_Thank you so much for those who found this story and also left me a review/fav/follow._

 _I appreciate it very, very much and it motivated me a lot._

 _Again, I'll apologize ahead for easy language or mistakes!_

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 **Chapter 2: The Vanishing Glass (Dudley Dursley)**

It was 8:30am on a sunny Saturday morning when a loud shrilling alarm disrupted the peaceful silence in the biggest bedroom in Privet Drive number 4. Dudley Dursley woke with a start. He roared angrily and smashed his big arm onto the nightstand, knocking off the annoyingly ringing clock and with a loud bang it shattered on the ground.

He rolled onto his back and tried to remember the dream he had been having. It had been a good one. There had been cars, guns and police chases in it. Dudley was strongly reminded of one of his computer games he had been playing for hours yesterday. With a grunt he rolled over to the side again. Stupid alarm, he thought. If he wasn't mistaken it was Saturday, which means that he normally wouldn't get up for another few hours.

Dudley closed his eyes, intending to fall back asleep, but after only a few moments there was s soft knock on the door and his mother entered the room. "Where is my little birthday boy?", said Petunia in a singing baby voice. Dudley jumped. His birthday, of course, now he remembered why he had set the alarm! He turned to his mother and yawned extensively. "Where are my presents?"

His mother smiled affectionately. "Duddydums, they are downstairs... get dressed and come down, will you? Breakfast is almost ready too." Dudley yawned again but he didn't quite manage to hide his excitement. He lifted himself off the bed and grabbed the clothes his mother had laid out for him yesterday. It took him a while to get his jeans on; for some reason they seemed to get tighter every week. His mother was presumably too stupid to do the laundry properly, he assumed.

A few minutes later the boy bolted down the stairs loudly, making sure to startle his stupid cousin out of his sleep. He wouldn't let the little git miss the chance of watching him opening his presents. Dudley almost trembled in pleasant anticipation when imagining the envy on Harry's face that would undoubtedly show. Petunia waited at the bottom of the stairs to escort her son into the kitchen excitedly.

When Dudley entered the room his gaze immediately fell upon the table which was loaded with presents. It looked as though he had gotten the new computer he wanted, as well as a second television and a racing bike, which he only wanted because his friend Malcolm had one too and it was an imposition to watch him show off with it. His dad and Harry were already there, although the freak was still busy frying eggs at the stove. Was he being extra slowly, trying to provoke him?

"I'm hungry", moaned Dudley as a morning greeting and grinned satisfyingly when his mother shot Harry a nasty, warning look.

The boy seemed to understand and got a move on; Dudley was still counting his presents when Harry put the plates of eggs and bacon on the table. Dudley's face fell as soon as he had finished counting the parcels. "Thirty-six," he said, looking up at his mother and father. "That's two less than last year." They can't be bloody serious!

His mother tried to defend herself. "Darling, you haven't counted Auntie Marge's present, see, it's here under this big one from Mommy and Daddy."

"All right, thirty-seven then," said Dudley annoyed, going red in the face and thinking of turning over the table. How can they dare to give him less presents than the year before? They couldn't embarrass him like this, especially not in front of the scrawny git who was wolfing down his bacon like a pig for some reason.

Luckily his parents were really easy to manipulate; his mother offered to buy him two more presents when they were out later. Dudley had forgotten how many presents he had just counted and tried to remember.

"So I'll have thirty . . . thirty . . ."

"Thirty-nine, sweetums."

"Oh." Dudley sat down heavily and grabbed the nearest parcel. "All right then."

His father chuckled. "Little tyke wants his money's worth, just like his father. 'Atta boy, Dudley!" He ruffled Dudley's hair and the boy snatched his head away.

He had just started to unwrap his presents when the telephone rang and Petunia left to answer it. His father and cousin watched him yank open parcel after parcel and Dudley was pleased to notice that Harry didn't succeed in hiding his jealousy entirely. However, only a few moments later his happiness turned into horror when his mother returned and announced, that the old bat called Mrs. Figg wouldn't be able to take Harry today and that his parents didn't seem to be able to find another babysitter either.

Harry eventually suggested leaving him in the house alone but Dudley couldn't fail to notice the excitement in his cousin's voice, no doubt thinking about the television and computer.

This had to be the worst day of Dudley's life yet.

Even though he hadn't been crying in years he knew that if there was one thing his mother wouldn't be able to bear it was seeing her little boy upset, and so he put on a tormented expression and began to wail loudly.

"I ... don't … want ... him ... t-t-to come!" Dudley yelled, pretending to sob violently. "He always sp-spoils everything!" Through the gap in his mothers arms he could see the acidulous look his cousin gave him and shot him a nasty grin in return. He'd make sure that the freak wouldn't be allowed to come and he would remind his father to lock him into the closet. Unfortunately, the doorbell rang only a few moments later and Dudley stopped pretending to cry at once when his best friend Piers Polkiss strutted into the room.

"Are you guys ready to go?", asked Piers' mother. Petunia hesitated. "Well... we do not know where to … I mean … my nephew, he is … he doesn't like the zoo, so we allowed him to stay with a neighbor but she can't take him now and-"

Mrs. Polkiss turned to Harry, who was still sitting at the table, and smiled.

"You know, they did some renovations recently and now they have a lot of exciting new animals and shows … Maybe you can pull yourself together? … Please, I'm sure you don't want to spoil your cousin's birthday, do you?"

Dudley wanted to hit her; she was ruining everything! Harry was seemingly astonished at first, but then he returned her smile and said: "No, I don't want to spoil it for him."

"Great", laughed Mrs. Polkiss and beamed. "Well, I'll get going, be good Piers, will you? I'll pick you up at 5pm. Goodbye!"

Dudley was smoking with rage while his parents exchanged a nervous and angry look; apparently they thought that they couldn't leave Harry at home now, in case Piers would talk about it later. His mother then left the room, probably going upstairs to prepare for departure.

"Your stupid mother just ruined my birthday, thank you very much", he spit at Piers, who looked guilty.

"Aw man, I'm sorry. I don't know why she did that, I've told her that your cousin is a loser and that I can't stand him."

Dudley didn't listen; his dad had just pulled Harry off the table furiously and pushed him into the hall, closing the door behind them.

"Ssssh", Dudley hissed. As silently as possible he sneaked up to the hall door.

"I'm warning you," he heard his father whisper threateningly, "I'm warning you now, boy ... any funny business, anything at all... and you'll be in that cupboard from now until Christmas."

Dudley grinned when Harry tried to assure Vernon that he wasn't going to do anything. I guess we'll see about that, he thought. It wouldn't be the first time that his cousin got in trouble for doing... _something_.

* * *

Half an hour later the group was on their way to the local zoo.

It took Harry only fifteen minutes to set his uncle off for the first time. Dudley and Piers sniggered loudly when Harry almost made Vernon crash into the car in front by babbling about a flying motorcycle. It got even better when his dad turned around and yelled at Harry loudly, spraying his face with spit. Maybe this day wouldn't be so bad after all.

It was a very sunny day and the zoo was crowded with people. They had to queue up at the entrance and when they had finally gotten the tickets Dudley was already close to throwing a tantrum. His dad seemed to smell danger and bought chocolate ice cream for Dudley and Piers. It would have made him feel better but of course the stupid van lady had to ask Harry what he wanted, forcing his parents to buy him an ice cream too. At least they made sure to only buy him a cheap lemon chop stick.

They walked around the zoo for what felt like days; at lunchtime Dudley and Piers started to get bored. The sun was burning down mercilessly and Dudley was panting and sweating. He was also hungry and so they sat down in the cozy zoo restaurant. Two double cheeseburgers with fries later, Dudley's stomach still rumbled; his parents ordered a knickerbocker glory for him and Piers, which turned out to be an effrontery. Two little scoops, hardly any whipped cream and … _fruits._ Simply disgusting!

"Is this a joke? I won't eat this!", he screamed at his mother, kicking the table hard. "This birthday sucks, I want to go home!"

"D-Don't worry darling, mommy.. mommy will get you a new one okay?", Petunia said, trying to calm him down.

Dudley was fuming and didn't even care that his parents allowed Harry to finish the dessert. The waitress tried to hide her anger when she served the second knickerbocker glory, this one at least twice as large as the one before. Finally... but really, was it that hard?

After lunch they went to the reptile house where it was pleasurably chilly and dark. There were a lot of huge hairy spiders and impressive venomous snakes. Dudley and Piers were quite fond of the thick, man-crushing phytons and cobras and they quickly found the most enormous snake there was. It could have wrapped its body twice around his dad's car and crushed it into a trash can but sadly the snake seemed to be fast asleep. Dudley pressed his nose against the glass, ordering his father to make it move. Vernon tapped on the glass two times but the Brazilian snake still didn't move.

"This is boring", he moaned and walked away. He wanted to go home; only reluctantly he looked at the following terrariums, already thinking about his new computer games.

A deafening shout from the direction of the sleeping boa constrictor made him jump.

"DUDLEY! MR. DURSLEY! COME AND LOOK AT THIS SNAKE! YOU WON'T _BELIEVE_ WHAT IT'S DOING!"

Dudley spun around and ran up to his friend as fast as he could; Piers was standing next to Harry in front of the glass, shaking with excitement.

"Out of the way, you," Dudley shouted, punching his cousin in the ribs who fell to the floor. Dudley withheld a laugh; Harry was such a weakling.

Greedily he leaned against the glass, not daring to blink. The snake was now awake, it's head raised _... staring_ at them. He didn't know why Piers had been so excited though, but before he could ask him, he suddenly seemed to lose his balance, his body jerking forward. The handrail in front of the terrarium saved him and Piers from falling into the enclosure and the boys managed to catch themselves, leaping back with howls of horror. The glass has _vanished!_

The great snake was uncoiling itself rapidly, slithering out onto the floor. Dudley and Piers screamed loudly when the snake wiggled past them closely, touching their ankles. Dudley could have sworn he heard it hissing and he struggled to get up as fast as possible.

"Mommyyyy!", he bawled in horror and from the sound of it other people had noticed the slithering snake now too, screaming in panic.

"DIDDY DARLING!", his mother screeched, running up to him and embraced him tightly.

Chaos erupted and it took the shocked keeper of the reptile house a while to figure out what had happened. It was the zoo director himself who invited the family, the freak and Piers into his office a few minutes later and made a cup of strong, sweet tea for his mother. The director apologized over and over again, promising an investigation of the incident. Dudley and Piers hardly paid attention; they couldn't stop gibbering, trying to get it into the adults' heads that the glass of the terrarium had simply vanished into thin air, but nobody listened.

His parents then wanted to drive home immediately and when they were back in the car, Dudley thought it was now time to emphasize that he had almost died, already looking forward to receiving a sweat I-am-sorry-Diddybums fifty-pound note. But best of all, for Dudley at least, was Piers calming down enough to say, "Harry was talking to it, weren't you, Harry?"

His father waited until Mrs. Polkiss had picked up her son before starting on Harry. He was so angry that he could hardly speak; the only words he managed to get out were: "go", "cupboard", "stay" and "no meals". Dudley was shaking with laughter. He didn't doubt for a second that Harry had actually 'spoken' to the snake, considering his cousin was a brainless blithering idiot who probably thought animals could understand English, but he didn't really see the drama. In fact, Dudley couldn't comprehend why his parents were so furious about this because even he had to admit that there was no way Harry could be blamed for a glass that strangely vanished into thin air, but he nevertheless enjoyed seeing the freak getting punished. It was what he deserved, after all.

Harry had lived with them for almost all his life and everything Dudley had ever been familiar was, that his cousin was different. He didn't know how or why, but there had to be a reason why his parents didn't treat him the same way they were treating Dudley, right? Maybe it was the fact that Harry wasn't their real son; it was obvious that his mother didn't like to talk about her sister, Dudley didn't even know his aunts first name. Maybe it also had to do with all those strange, unexplainable things happening around Harry sometimes. There had been quite a few weird incidents the last few years, after all. Every now and then even people, complete strangers, acted oddly around his cousin, beckoning at him, and once a man even bowed in front of him and shook his hand. Be that as it may, it was obvious that his parents wanted to make Harry's life as miserable as possible and who would he be to question that? Anyhow, it was not his problem, was it?

Dudley lay in his bright room much later, his stomach filled, looking back upon his birthday. Overall, it had been a good one and now that he was in safety, even the incident with the snake suddenly appeared awesome and exciting. He grinned contentedly when he imagined his friend's faces at school on Monday, surely they're gonna admire him for his bravery. Maybe he could add a few more details to the story to make it even more exciting; for as long as Piers kept his mouth shut, there would be no problem. Harry wouldn't say anything and even if he did, nobody would listen to him anyway, Dudley and his gang had made sure of that a while ago. Their classmates kept away from the freak with his baggy old clothes and broken glasses, for they didn't want any trouble with Dudley's gang.

* * *

 _It would make me really happy if you guys liked it! Please let me know :)_

 ** _BTW: Did anyone notice how I tried to mirror the beginning and the end of the first and second chapter with sentences of the original book? I doubt this will work for every chapter but I thought it would be a nice touch!_**

 _Next chapter will be from Petunia's POV._

 _I hope I will be able to finish writing it until next weekend  
_


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